Car Seat Headrest
Wednesday, March 16
4:00 pm
Palace Theatre
St. Paul, MN
Effective immediately, all concerts and events at First Avenue and associated venues will require either proof of a full series of COVID-19 vaccination, or proof of a negative COVID-19 test taken in the prior 72 hours. More info HERE.
All Ages | $29.50 General Admission and Reserved Balcony | $40 Reserved Loge
Doors open at 6PM | Show starts at 7PM
Presale starts Thursday, October 28 at 10AM | Tickets on sale Friday, October 29 at 10AM
Car Seat Headrest began as a solo project of Will Toledo in 2010. Recording in cars, bedrooms, and other solitary spaces, Toledo self-released 10 Car Seat Headrest records during his college years. In 2015, after signing with Matador Records, Car Seat Headrest expanded to include Andrew Katz on drums, Ethan Ives on guitar, and Seth Dalby on bass.
Now 10 years in, the four-piece is starting fresh with their 2020 release, Making A Door Less Open. The album, which features their first new music in 4 years, also marks a shift in sound towards the electronic and the eccentric, and introduces a mysterious character called “Trait”, Toledo’s new alternate persona.
"Tie me up." This is the ultimatum that closes "Mustang," a fiery post-punk synth-rock sprint and the second track on Live Forever, the full-length debut record from D.C.-based musician and singer Bartees Strange. The dare -- "Tie me up" -- ties back to the title of the song, and the place Strange grew up: Mustang, Oklahoma, an overwhelmingly white and racist sundown town on the outskirts of Oklahoma City. In Mustang, he says, "I didn't let myself be seen. I held myself down so I could make people feel more comfortable around me." On his new record, Strange has ground that former conviction to dust, and replaced it with a new one: "'Just tie me up.' I'd rather die than not be myself again."
Live Forever is a direct and stunning result of this conviction. It's impossible to divorce the reality of Strange's personal trajectory from the intricate and idiosyncratic 13-track saga on record: it spans gentle, Moses Sumney-meets-Yves Jarvis minimalism, Killers-ish indie rock vigor with post-punk cracks in its danceable veneer, the throbbing industrial alt-soul of Algiers, Justin Vernon's acoustic tenderness, and the volatile, unforgiving production and delivery of Death Grips. Simply put, it is a combination that none but Strange could execute under -- and as a result of -- precise circumstances.